Hot
by Mesu Raion
Summary: Trapped within the confines of a crack in the Earth, Sam must save Dean's life while searching for an escape route and fending off a starving creature that should never have existed in Texas in the first place. Protective!Sam Hurt!Dean. Permanent Hiatus


**Hot**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, all settings this story are completely made up.

**Plot Summary:** Trapped within the confines of a crack in the Earth, Sam must save Dean's life while searching for an escape route and fending off a starving creature that should never have existed in Texas in the first place. Protective!Sam Hurt!Dean.

**A/N:** story takes place after ep.306 "Red Sky at Morning."

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**Prologue**

_Just Outside Cynic, Texas (Canyon)  
Day Three (Sunday)  
1:30 p.m._

The Texas sun was ruthless and unkind to those beneath it, Sam Winchester could honestly testify to the jury. He would describe in detail how the sun had cooked and blistered the skin on his face, bare torso, and knee-caps down until it left it as red as the shell of a boiled lobster, skin flaking and beginning to bleed. The sun's heat had sweated him dry and left his tongue feeling unnaturally heavy and bloated. With no water to cure this problem in his possession, the young Stanford student knew it was only a matter of time before he collapsed from dehydration and his brain fried out from the sun.

So he walked. To where, he had no idea; his only goal to find help.

Step by step, mindful of the weight upon his back. Sam carried his unconscious brother and felt the heavy puffs of breath on his neck, which continually fueled his determination to find the way out of this godforsaken crack in the Earth. Dean's wounds were a cause for serious concern; Sam chewed on quietly in his mind. Sustaining a mild concussion was only the least of their worries as most of the damage was internal. Wrapping his own undershirt around the head wound could only be so helpful, along with protecting his brother's own flesh from burning by unbuttoning and draping his brown long sleeved shirt over his head and down his naked back.

Narrowing his mindset, he set ablaze all unnecessary thoughts; how thirsty he was, how scorching hot he was, how sluggish he was becoming...because no matter how bad he felt, it must be twice as painful for Dean whose skeleton had been split in half. Just thinking about all the internal bleeding going on in his brother's body right then was...and his state of awakening was filled with confusion and deliriousness and the awareness of so much _pain_...

Sam hated the idea of letting Dean fall asleep with a concussion, knew you should never allow it, but even more so he couldn't bear his brother's suffering from being jostled around on his back all day with a shattered and broken pelvis, since it'd be physically impossible for him to walk at all. He'd heard the crunching, grinding bones from when it had happened, after all. He could only imagine what must've it felt like to basically be snapped in half like that.

The gorge's high jagged rock walls dashed any hopes of escape by climbing, besides, with no rock-climbing equipment, it was hopeless anyway. This wasn't exactly a popular tourist attraction like the Grand Canyon as of late, either; therefore he didn't expect many visitors to stumble across them. Sam remembered to keep his eyes peeled for any swarms of insects, any living creatures really - save for the one most certainly slowly tracking them at the moment - because live bugs or animals meant a nearby water source. And if anything came at them with intent to kill, for example _that thing_... He could feel his chromed Beretta ready and loaded with silver rounds established against his hip for immediate use.

The past two nights were nothing less than brutal on the pair of brothers. Temperatures dropped rapidly during the night time and although Dean had took with him the flare gun from the Impala's trunk before setting off on this failing hunt, he'd lost it in the incident inside the cave which had resulted in his (hopefully) temporary paralysis. With no way to make a fire and no emergency blankets, Sam had to settle for exercising his own body to regulate his temperature. The Stanford student had dark round circles beneath his eyes to prove how little sleep he'd offered himself.

At first, he hadn't been sure whether to have Dean at least do crunches while Sam helped and encouraged him, unsure if the pain would put too much strain on his older brother's body and damage it further. Sam hardened his resolve, gently but firmly started Dean out on the first few crunches, Sam's arms prepared to catch Dean's head so it wouldn't plow into the rocky, sandy ground, worsening his concussion. These night hours were the times where his hurt brother was more or less coherent enough to talk with Sam, understanding what was happening around him, the situation they were placed in.

Thinking back on it, Sam was sure it was because his brother was already so young and healthy preceding the incident within the dark confines of the cave the other night that Dean was even still breathing.

Snapping back to reality, Sam trudged on desperately through sand and stone. Brown eyes skimmed the nearby cliffs' ridges once again, the sunlight poured over the canyon accentuating its almost maroon color, emphasizing the canyon's beauty. Sam would have been awed at its majestic appeal if he weren't seemingly Hell bound inside the belly of the beast.

A slightly relieving sight entered into his line of vision. A nice sized portion of the rock wall jutted sharply out, creating enough of an overhang to make some cool shade and a good rest stop for now. He hurried toward it, eager to take a rest. Carefully maneuvering Dean in his arms, scared to death of unintentionally dropping him because his arms got so shaky, he lowered him safely onto the ground. Taking his own long brown shirt from underneath his brother, he folded it into a makeshift pillow for Dean.

Sam knew if Dean had been his regular self, he'd have hated all of this accommodation on his younger brother's part, thinking it was not Sam's place to coddle him like a child. Sam could've told Dean the same thing at times, though. That he himself was twenty-three years old, that Dean didn't need to shelter "Sammy" forever, but Sam didn't want to because he welcomed Dean's big brother reassurances he'd grown up with. Now he was justly giving back, especially in Dean's time of need, during his last year of life. Well, unless Sam Winchester had anything to say about that anyway.

Checking Dean's surviving pulse and temperature, Sam walked not to faraway to ponder his thoughts. No one knew he and his brother were here, he'd told Bobby that the hunt he and Dean assigned themselves would end shortly and they'd move on again up north - under low profile because they both suspected Special Agent Henricksen were hot on their trail again - so they wouldn't be able to contact him any time soon. Sam and Dean had checked out of the local motel they'd stayed at and he'd also made no mention of where he was going to anyone and doubted Dean would have either; therefore they were off the grid, once again.

Oh, and not to mention that both their cell phones were gone or useless.

Sam would have cried from the stress and frustration if he could've mustered up enough water in his eyes.

Instead, he began kicking and punching the rock wall, wasting precious energy but just not _caring _because neither of them was getting out of here, they would die here alone and not one person, save maybe Bobby or Ellen, would care or even know they were gone. The brothers would just simply leave this world as nobodies, just another pair of faceless travelers who'd drawn the short stick and gotten themselves lost in the world. Worst of all, he'd most likely be forced to watch the death of his brother before his own peril drew near with the way things were looking.

Not remembering how or when he ended up on his knees, forehead touching the ground, choking back moans pouring from his throat working as a substitute for his tears, Sam's ears twitched at the sound of a weak voice call out to him.

"Sammy..."

Sharply turning around, Sam took in the sight of his brother laying in the shade. Dean's arm reached out to him, as if beckoning him to his side and Sam obliged. Kneeling by Dean's weary head, Sam saw those comforting green eyes again looking at him again in a way they hadn't in a while. He took Dean's previously outstretched hand and gripped it tightly with two hands, Dean's grasp frail but there and steady and that's all Sam could ask for.

He wished Dean hadn't witnessed his little fit a moment ago, a blaring signal of his inablilty to lead. If Sam didn't have Dean's faith in him to save them both, how could expect to believe it himself?

"Dean, I'm sorry," Sam said gently. "I promised you a way out of this, but... I don't know what to do!" Sam swallowed down a lump in his throat, scrunching up his face.

Hearing no response from his brother, Sam's eyes glanced back down at Dean's stoic gaze. Understanding that Dean was waiting until he'd settled himself again, he took two deep breaths. Dean spoke in a hushed whisper, "I know I'm useless right now but... I need you to be strong for me. Can you do that, Sam?"

"I don't know how..."

"I've seen you be strong before, Sam." Dean spoke soothingly in a way that made Sam think of the mother he'd never known. "I know you can do it again."

His older brother always had known how to rebuild someone's confidence, Sam thought warmly as a small smile spread across his dirty, sunburnt features. Sam lifted his and Dean's hands clutching on together up to face, close to his lips as though to kiss them.

"I believe in you, man."

He sat up a bit straighter and squared back his shoulders. Sam was touched listening to the words Dean had said - were exactly what he _needed _to hear from his brother. His will to escape this Hell hole with his brother turned fiery and unshakable, monster, demon, nor God would stand in his and Dean's way to freedom, to the life they rightly deserved. Sam was their only hope.

"Thank you, Dean. I promise I won't let you down."

In the depths of his mind, he suddenly recalled the furious scream of one particularly starving monster following them.


End file.
